Weather Alert:

Church programs for Monday, Jan. 22 will resume their normal schedule at all locations this evening.

Programming Note:

Leawood’s Sunday night in-person worship has been moved to 4 pm for Sunday, February 11. 

Search
Close this search box.

Praising the Creator's goodness and power

April 27, 2022
SHARE

Daily Scripture

Psalm 19:1-4, 33:6-9, 12-15

Psalm 19

1 Heaven is declaring God’s glory;
the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.
2 One day gushes the news to the next,
and one night informs another what needs to be known.
3 Of course, there’s no speech, no words—
their voices can’t be heard—
4 but their sound extends throughout the world;
their words reach the ends of the earth.

Psalm 33

6 The skies were made by the Lord’s word,
all their starry multitude by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathered the ocean waters into a heap;
he put the deep seas into storerooms.
8 All the earth honors the Lord;
all the earth’s inhabitants stand in awe of him.
9 Because when he spoke, it happened!
When he commanded, there it was!

12 The nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom God has chosen as his possession,
is truly happy!
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees every human being.
14 From his dwelling place God observes
all who live on earth.
15 God is the one who made all their hearts,
the one who knows everything they do.

Did You Know?

EarthCOR has developed a beautiful “Creator and Creation” guide to take you and your family through the Leawood Prayer Walk with a focus on creation care. Click here to download the guide, or enter https://cor.org/justice/earthcor#creator-creation-a-contemplative-prayer-walk-guide.

Daily Reflection & Prayer

Owen Gingerich, Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at Harvard, wrote: “Rather than believe that the universe is simply meaningless, a macabre joke, I would prefer to accept a universe created with intention and purpose by a loving God….the elements are just right, the environment is fit for life, and slowly life forms have populated the earth.” * His precise teacher’s prose echoed the praise-filled poetry of the ancient psalmists.

  • Copernicus, Galileo, the Hubbell telescope and much more have expanded and altered the way we understand our planet and our universe (e.g. we no longer understand oceans the way Psalm 33:7 did). Does our increased knowledge of the universe increase or lessen your appreciation and reverence for the Creator’s work?
  • Psalm 19 may have reflected David’s outdoor life as a shepherd (cf. 1 Samuel 16:11-13), saying, “Heaven is declaring God’s glory….Of course, there’s no speech, no words—their voices can’t be heard—but their sound extends throughout the world.” When has nature spoken most powerfully to you of God’s glory, goodness and power? When have you seen human carelessness or greed limit or spoil nature’s ability to “speak” of God’s glory?
Prayer

O Lord, open my eyes to the signs of your creative power and beauty that are still visible in our world. Fill my heart with wonder at the wisdom and grace reflected in so much I can see. Amen.

GPS Insights

Kari Burgess

Kari Burgess

Kari joined staff in 2012 after several years in the corporate world and served 9 years on the ShareChurch Ministry Team before moving into her current role as a Creative Project Manager on the Resurrection Experience Team.

She married her college sweetheart, Matt, in 1996 and together they love spending time with their two daughters and supporting them in their music, theater, social and academic adventures. Kari enjoys running with her neighborhood “crew” and hiking.

When hiking in Colorado, I am amazed by the beauty of a summit view with mountain upon mountain in the horizon and the beautiful forest and lakes below. One time, I snorkeled near the barrier reef off the coast of Belize and I couldn’t believe the variety of fish and plant life my eyes had never seen before. Have you ever gone out for an early morning walk or run and stopped to listen to the chirping of birds awaking to the new day? There are times when, in the busy-ness of an ordinary evening, the beautiful colors of a Kansas sunset take my breath away. I ponder the miracle of life, still in awe 20 years later that my children grew inside my womb. And there are instances I simply stop and praise God for all the systems in my body running properly.

When I stop to consider all of these amazing details of this Earth, the only way I can make sense of it in my mind (and according to our Psalms passages today), is this creation must be the handiwork of a loving, caring and powerful Creator. The care, planning and remarkable details woven into the great symphony of creation are awe-inspiring and inconceivable to my simple human brain. And the only way this great symphony makes sense to me is that a Creator, God, is the great composer and conductor behind it all. When I take time to praise God for the wonder of creation, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

But too often, these moments of amazement and praise for Creation are fleeting. When I come back home from a trip to the mountains, back to shore after a snorkel tour or back inside after an early morning run, I so easily return to taking for granted all God has created and provided. I am grateful for the opportunity this week to spend time reflecting on Creation. Join me, by taking time to soak in some sunshine and breathe in some fresh air this week and thank God for our home, the Earth. And then join me in visiting www.cor.org/earthcor to explore ways to become a better steward of Creation.

© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References

* Owen Gingerich, God’s Universe. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006, p. 96-97.